http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:amygirlgermanpants&section=today deviantART RSS for by:amygirlgermanpants en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:20:19 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/27932435/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/27932435/ Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:04:58 PDT QuietCritic (henceforth known as Tom) and I have been working on a project for quite some time now. See, Tom has a fictional fantasy setting that he's been developing for a number of years, and the two of us decided to make a graphic novel that takes place in that setting. We have a website and everything, it's very fancy.

You should, like, check it out sometime. Please? [link]

Along with the graphic novel, there's additional content about the Universe of Altair and the things in it. We have "in-world" news articles, a codex, a map room... Anyway, you get the idea. We really want our readers to have a chance to get immersed in this world that's been created.

So, head on over, and tell us whatcha think! It'll be much appreciated!

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/19598583/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/19598583/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:04:31 PDT
At any rate, I'm super-duper excited, because next week is...

QUAKECON! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (www.quakecon.org)

If any of you are going to QuakeCon, keep an eye out for me. I go under the handle (or nickname) of "Amerz" and can usually be found working at the InfoDesk.

In other news, I've begun the pre-production on an animated short that I've been waiting to make since the end of 2005.

I don't want to shove myself in a dark little corner to work on this project. I want input. Lots and lots of input, and not just from "arteests." I want art people, computer people, literature people (hi Tom!), and all sorts of people to give me their opinions and insights. However, I do not wish to do it on DeviantArt, and it is not sufficient, anyway.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to make it accessible to everyone, and make it easy for me to post progress (text, images, video, etc). I also feel like I'll be more adamant about sticking to the project and making steady progress if I have some sort of "obligation" to post every so often. For the time being, I'll be making my "Production Journal" on Blogger.

Here's a link: [link]
Be aware that there probably won't be much on there for another week or so (right now there's nothing, har har har.)

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/16810256/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/16810256/ Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:36:57 PST
I was in the local Wally World when I happened to look over at a shirt display.

One of the shirts caught my eye immediately. It had a quartet of Peeps marshmallow candies on it, and below them were the words:

Peeps in the Hood.

I almost fell over with laughter.

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/16514276/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/16514276/ Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:22:55 PST
And yet, I still suck at art. Alas, I am so far behind in my journey to become a noteworthy artist!

Still, at least I'm having fun. At least, I think I'm having fun - could just be the continuous sleep deprivation and endless work hours talking. Hm.

At any rate, has been working with me day and night on a project, and helping me keep my sanity. Or lose it. I'm not really sure which.

Until next time, boys and girls.

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/14978157/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/14978157/ Mon, 08 Oct 2007 21:43:57 PDT
I'm currently working on a commercial project that's been eating up nearly all my time... The deadline's almost here, though, so it's all or nothing at this point. Yikes.

In good news, however, I bought the Orange Box, a package deal from Steam that includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, Portal, Peggle Extreme, and...

TEAM FORTRESS 2!!! YEEEEEAH! WOOOOOO!

All I can say is, after waiting many months for the chance to play this game, it does not disappoint. It. Is. AWESOME. Awesome visual style, awesome game play, awesome sound, awesome voice acting, and awesome humor.

You know what is also awesome? Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series. It's the first time I've been really caught up in a book (let alone SERIES) in a long, long time. Ah... Reading for pleasure, an activity I deeply missed!

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/13627459/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/13627459/ Thu, 05 Jul 2007 22:43:46 PDT
The journal title does not lie! I have FINALLY uploaded a compilation of photographs of the Grim Fandango costumes created and worn by Sterling and I. But those are just a few of the pictures! More can be seen here: [link]

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/13204559/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/13204559/ Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:23:12 PDT
Just wanted to let you know, our costumes WERE completed in time for A-Kon! Sure, we had to stay up all Friday night to finish them in time for Saturday morning, but we did it. Holy crap, I'm STILL tired.

Unfortunately, we didn't last very long. The Adam's Mark's A/C was crap (I KNOW they were holding back, due to previous experience with them), and Sterling's head fell apart. Plus, we were mega-tired from staying up all night working and not eating. We were there for about four hours, I think.

There could be some improvements, for sure. I think Sterling and I were both considering the idea of taking time to really improve our costumes, now that we're no longer under a time constraint. I think we should. I mean, I have some personal qualms about mine that I'd like to go back and fix... I'd like to get these to the point where they were REALLY spot on.

Pictures will be posted in a couple of weeks, possibly sooner. It depends on how long it takes people to send me the pictures they took, and if some really good ones come along sooner rather than later.

Oh yeah, and SOOOO many people recognized us! It was CRAZY! I mean, I expected, like, a handful of people... But I think we were well over 50 people by the end of our four-hour visit. AWESOME!

Man... I am so tired.

Oh, and I saw Spidey 3. I thought it was great. I don't know why so many people seem to have a stick up their ass about it. Sure, some things could have been done/treated better, but jeeze.

EDIT:

I've been feverishly looking through galleries as they get linked on A-Kon's official gallery page, and Googling, and hounding my email. So far, all I've found is one person who got a few shots of Sterling/Manny. I'm trying very, very hard to be patient. My inbox for manny.n.meche@gmail.com is lonely

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/13165090/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/13165090/ Thu, 31 May 2007 14:35:46 PDT
I'm going to A-Kon. As Meche Colomar. From Grim Fandango - know the game? Maybe not. At any rate, the costume will be awesome. I promise.

Totally in a rush to get things done for school, but also get the costume completed. It's a little crazy. I've been reading Watchmen again. It makes me want to write like Rorschach. Can you tell?

Alright, enough of that silliness. I'm currently working on taking some "in progress" pictures of the costume, and should have them posted in an hour or so.

I'm really, really excited.

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/12948317/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/12948317/ Mon, 14 May 2007 00:15:58 PDT
I think a lot of it is because I was reminded by a friend that my acts of kindness - even the small ones - ARE noticed, appreciated, and remembered. Even better, I got to brighten my mom's day, which is DEFINITELY a plus. She always seems to be carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders; I wish I could do more for her.

I went to the local Good Will with Sterling and Izumi today. We found freaking 30% of Sterling's costume for A-Kon. It was insane, but awesome. Seriously, you should see the dinner jacket he got for $10. He is going to make such an amazing Manny Calavera.

Now, if only we can create those papier mache heads and make my dress in time for A-Kon... Oh gaaaawd, it's going to be so SUPER-COOL! GRIM FANDANGO GREATNESS!

Okay, yeah, so... Not that anyone cared about all that, but I'm recording my feelings for posterity. I want to be able to look back at this and say, "man, I remember this day. It was awesome."

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/12416467/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/12416467/ Sun, 01 Apr 2007 12:52:48 PDT
Anyhoo, it would seem I've yet again fallen short of my Things to Do list for the break. Alas.

In good news, I seem to have inexplicably gained a sense of color. I honestly don't know how it happened. Weird.

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/11129146/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/11129146/ Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:28:00 PST
Sorry for not really being around, folks. Something about school just really causes me to zone in on it and forget/ignore everything else.

I developed a social life this quarter, especially in the last week - holy crap! I went on three outings (two parties!) in four days! It was like, "SOCIAL OVERLOAD, ZOMG!" 'Twas cool, though. I got to meet some people, and got to know someone I'd been wanting to get acquainted with for a long time. I'm glad I got to know them, too, because I find them fun to be around, and inspiring at a very deep level of my personal being.

Alright, enough jibber-jabbering about crap people don't care about, and more jibber-jabbering about things people also don't give a crap about, but I'm going to mention, anyway! AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!

I'm going to use the next two and a half weeks of break to expand my skills... My sense of color is total garbage, and my drawing skills have kind of gone out the window due to lack of use (bad me, BAD!) Let's not even get into my compositioning skills. So, everyday I'm going to post some practice stuff... If you're around, you gotta bug me when I don't do my daily practice! C'mon, guys!

Nag me - FOR GREAT JUSTICE!

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10539243/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10539243/ Sat, 28 Oct 2006 15:43:53 PDT
They had a special performance at the Hollywood Bowl in California, in which composers from various LucasArts games did live performances of songs written for Grim Fandango, Curse of Monkey Island, and Outlaws.

Grim Fandango's soundtrack was composed by Peter McConnell. He's composed soundtracks for numerous other titles (just check out his profile on IMDB.com), and I am a great fan of his work. I was absolutely spastic when I'd read on DoubleFine.com that he would be among the artists doing live performances at the Hollywood Bowl. Alas, there was no way I was going to be able to make it to California for the event...

However, a couple of very cool people managed to record the awesomeness of the LucasArts performance, and posted it on YouTube. I would suggest letting the videos load, and then minimize the window after pushing play; the visuals are pretty well useless. Besides, it's the music that's important here.

The LucasArts performance:
[link]

Just "Swanky Maximo" from Grim Fandango:
[link]

All three song performances were pure greatness, but "Swanky Maximo" just blew me away. It's actually different from the piece in the original soundtrack, and - dare I say? Better. The violin is just gorgeous and really added an extra punch to the music. I'm positive that it's good ol' McConnell himself playing the violin in this particular performance, and that makes it all the more brilliant.

It depresses me to no end to think that these two entries on YouTube may very well be the ONLY publicly-accessible recordings of this music that will EVER exist. I'm doubtful that the people running VGL had the initiative to make professional-quality recordings of the performances for their supposedly-coming CD release, and the LucasArts thing was a one-time deal.

Sigh.

Anyway, after getting super-pumped over the live performance of "Swanky Maximo," I'm playing Grim Fandango through again. I still love it.

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10451555/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10451555/ Fri, 20 Oct 2006 01:48:39 PDT
So, uh... I'm slowly assimilating myself into the whole deviantArt thing. Despite the extreme skepticism and snideness I had before joining, I think I'll like it here. In fact, it may motivate me to produce more. This is a good thing.

In spite of my better judgement, I posted some SpongeBob fan art. Enjoy, question my sanity, bleed from your eye-sockets; it's totally up to you.

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10429727/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10429727/ Wed, 18 Oct 2006 01:14:59 PDT
Anyway, I took a little bit of time today trying to intergrate myself into the DA culture/community. I found a PsychoNauts club, along with fan clubs for various characters from PsychoNauts, so that's pretty cool. I don't want to join them, though, until I have a piece of fan art to offer them; I'd feel inadequate otherwise. I actually found the PsychoNauts club while looking up something in Google... So, I guess if I want to find a club on DA for something, I can Google it. Which reminds me - I need to find that Lazy Town fan club...

I still feel like I have no freakin' clue what I'm doing. For example, I know how to put people on Watch, but I can't find the option to put people in a Friends list. It's probably in the FAQ somewhere and I just missed it.

I learned today that the Random Deviation and Random Deviant links aren't a whole lot of help in finding new artists to check out. Most of the time, I get somebody's WoW screenshot, or a long-time-idle account. I suppose the "90% of everything is crap" rule really DOES apply to everything. Crazy.

I suppose that means I'll have to depend on social networking to find my way around. That's cool. I can dig that.

Now, if you'll pardon me, I need to go to bed. ... Yes, you. Go away. Come back later, though. But not now. Or soon. Maybe in a few hours - only if you're quiet.

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10375511/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10375511/ Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:59:29 PDT
ANYWAY! Yes, I got around to posting art - JUST LIKE I PROMISED! WOW! Imagine THAT!

I don't think I will ever have many Deviations, really. I'm far too much of a sketchy-type person. I'm more interested in the process than the finished product, I guess you could say. So, you know... If you're thinking, "where the heck is all the art?" try looking in the Scraps section. Sketchy sketchy sketch sketch! And DOODLES!

I'll try not to fill it up with TOO much garbage. Then again, even the Scraps section has thumbnails, so why not?

Anyway, I really need to get to bed. Things to do, hours to sleep, scenarios to dream, babies to eat - you know how it goes.

(Also, I totally switched my mood info to the bottom for this post. FEAR MY POWERS OF DISCOMBOBULATION!)

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10371496/ http://amygirlgermanpants.deviantart.com/journal/10371496/ Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:39:14 PDT
I've been really getting into studying the art of comic books/graphic novels recently (since it's an art form I've never tried), so I'm going to be doing some... Experiments with the medium.

Normally, I don't think I would have considered looking into the medium, but I read Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" and "Comics Reinvented" over the weekend. All I can say is... WOW. "Understanding Comics" is easily the most influential book I have read in YEARS. And, while "Reinventing Comics" wasn't quite as epiphany-inducing as "Understanding," it really made the cranks in my head turn. Just like Scott McCloud...

I CAN'T STOP THINKING!

All these ideas! Concepts! Possibilities as of yet unexplored! I have all these thoughts running through my head, just going and going and going! Continuously self-perpetuating, evolving, growing, branching out!

I WILL make time to explore this art form... It's a moral imperative!

]]> ~amygirlgermanpants